Advice for Gym

dh90irl

Hey all,

Well I shared my story before (here if anyone wants to read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1152076-just-sharing-my-story ). Short story: I'm 5' 7" & since September I went from 180 lb's to 155 lb's up until the Christmas holidays just from cutting down on food intake & choosing some foods over others, & cutting out cans of coke (basically, not becoming a health-nut, but just cutting out a lot of stuff).

Up until a couple of weeks ago I had been struggling between 155 & 160 lb's because of Christmas, so I'm now back on track again at 155 lb's. The other day I went to the gym for the first time to try it out & I loved it. So tomorrow I'm signing up for a 3 month membership.

I tried out the elliptical machine, rowing machine, recumbent bike, stationary bike, the arm pedal bike, and used various weightlifting machines (varying only from around 10 to 30 kilo's & about 20 on each (& I did 2 rounds of each weight machine, so 40 each)).

I did a couple of kilometres on each machine (starting on the elliptical) & then switched over to another cardio machine, & then hit the weights, & then redid the process of all once more, then tried the elliptical for the 3rd time but gave up because I could feel my legs starting to go. So I spent about 2 & half hours in the gym. I did suffer from DOMS, but I'm getting over it, so I think I should be ok for tomorrow.

I want to know, is this a good routine? What machines would be best for me? Any recommendations at all!

Thank you!

Walter__

As far as cardio goes.. do whatever you like to do. If you only like to do one machine then do that. If you want to switch between the ellipitcal and bike.. do that. Whatever you enjoy and can stick to in the long run is what you should do. Personally I hate cardio so I never do it, and I've lost almost 50lbs just fine without it.

Now if you plan on doing both cardio and weightlifting on the same day.. do weights and then do cardio. I don't see why you go cardio -> weights -> cardio -> weights. Doesn't make any sense. Just finish your weightlifting routine first, then go do your cardio.

The reason I always tell people weights first is because you can always push yourself to do more cardio, but you can't push that last rep out when your muscles are completely fatigued because you wasted all your energy on doing cardio before you hit the weights. What are you going to do when you can't pedal a cardio bike anymore? Nothing, just sit there. What are you going to do when your muscles give out underneath the bar during a squat or a bench press? Injure yourself, potentially very seriously.

davepearson86

Total muscle failure extremely unlikely. More like have to sit up on bench to remove weight or put bar onto supports in squat rack. Either way get off the machines and do 5 sets of 5 with compound movements instead of 20 reps with machines. Strong lifts 5x5, starting strength are pretty simple and effective beginner programs that should give you great results.

dh90irl

Thanks for the advice, I'll try all that out tomorrow!

meshashesha2012

2.5 hours in the gym??

that's CRAZY! if you've already at the stage where you've developed the habit of going, then increase your intensity and keep your workouts short and focused 45-60 minutes.

i agree with getting off the machines and pick up a compound lifting program like starting strength or strong lifts.

cardio can be what ever you want, but again there's no reason to do 2.5 hours of it at time unless you're training for a marathon or something

dh90irl

I'll be honest, I did it for so long to:

(a) push myself to see how far I can go. I do have a lot of stamina to do stuff (I'm a guitarist for a living, so giving it my all on stage helps).

(b) I was still getting to grips with all of the equipment.

(c) The biggest reason... It was costing me €5 just for the day, so I wanted to make the most of it! :P But with the membership it'll cut down costs, I'm going to use it at least twice a week, & maybe go at the weekends as well.

I'll start with some Compound stuff then. Which would be better for actually losing the gut, Cardio or the weights? At the moment, I mainly want to lose the gut, but I want to move onto some dedicated weight training to build up my mass, or would it be recommended to dedicate to some weightlifting now & I'll both lose the gut & start developing some 'gains'?

Walter__

Total muscle failure extremely unlikely. More like have to sit up on bench to remove weight or put bar onto supports in squat rack. Either way get off the machines and do 5 sets of 5 with compound movements instead of 20 reps with machines. Strong lifts 5x5, starting strength are pretty simple and effective beginner programs that should give you great results.

I should've worded that a little better. I didn't mean to say you'll ALWAYS injure yourself, but it is a lot more likely to happen if you're fatigued because you spent your energy doing something else before lifting weights. I doubt you'll see powerlifters and oly lifters doing 2 hours of cardio like the OP right before performing their big lifts. Look at that crossfit guy who broke his spine doing an olympic lift a few days ago. So what had he been doing prior to the oly lift that broke his back? I took a look at their program for the day, and here's just a few of the things beforehand: Swimming, burpees, handstands, running 3 miles with weights strapped to himself, etc. Would he have failed the lift that broke his back if he hadn't been fatigued from the previous exercises? You decide.